Folding machine



April 8, 1930. F. E. MuNscHAUER FOLDING MACHINE FiledJuly 5, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet l Inveno April 8, A1930-- v "F. E. MUN'SQHAUER 1,753,212

` FOLDING MACHINE Firled July 5, 1928 2 sheets-sheet 2 Patented pr. 8, 1930 Y. 135mg? FREDERICK E. MUNSCHAUEK, on BUFALO, NEW YORK, AssiGNoR froNIAGARA MACHINE AND T'ooL YORK l YEQLJQINQ.

-Application fue@ 51,1151 s,

This ,n-Neotion relates toa folflingilachine for folding sheets ofnietalzmdmore pgxrticu matically adapting itsel- Vto sheetsvo-in'etal' 2 0 of lgreater thickness and therebyravoidng the necessity offregdjusting .y n's'rn for this purpose, wherebythe folding of sheetszof '.variousthicknesses is iaeilitgted F andthe Voutput ofthe rngnchirie .is increasgd a and the cost of the Work;reducedccordingly.

Y -v :Inthe accompanying drawings z f section, lof the l foldingmachine containing `my improvement fand showing the pgrts'aol' 3 0 the `sonne in an {o peii position, L

versesection taken onlineZ-Q, gllig. 1.

fFigureS isiiview simluto Figfshowing the :parts in the position Whichfthey occupy "a when the sheetofmetal hasbelenipyrtlylbent.

In'the following description, siiiiilzircharyseveral figures ofthe Clrfanwqirigs'.

D alongitudinal elevated body 1,0 and two lfeet 121 depending from theopposte ends O'thfs bodylapnd-adaptedto rest" on 2L table, ATbenchor "OtheSuPpOrS-i 1; A f -Uponythe uppenpzrrtioffthe fname Ibody xis 1a I mounted Va oildngil@ilA metal to be folded or bent-ais placed Withits R wir part 14 underneafthithe-irgut nentgfith@ folding fbla'dezandiwh :i125 flfldg@ .against .the Clamping r11/echa#Y Vactors :of reference indica@ like :pam-)5. in he lng the fro WoK'Ks, OFJB'UFALO, NEW YORK, A 'ooRPoRATroNfoFfNEW MACHINE 719725., serial N9'. 290,252.

'the gage, asshownin igt?. regir l 412;) 211191' iffeth@ front Pari l5 O .th sheet 1s b ent'rearwardly over the blztdfefso that the rear mid 'from pms re fl'ded le clamp/ed against 'the iinders'idefof VtheA @lede rlhe yclamping of the rear purtof the sheet ofnietal againstthe' lfolrljing blade or leaf vis lengthwise lo'eflouffy the lfoldil'ig leaff'orljlzide and Provided at' its opibst ends vitiligo" rQlfWardly projecting grins 17 which are piv fing bar by 111115223; S0 'sfobe cambiari/f Hifi-Y ging thereon in je Vertical plane".V

In the open position ofthe machine the Vfolding bar y'andWingtire swunv'ti'orf `and'r downwardly. so thatthe lihlce of ythe is fronzfof Vand flush Withthe QflceQ clamping lo lr 1 6, Wherebythesh f ft h t' ed vcan be plncecl/on,the,facesfoftlie'rfo .wing and clamping bar emu-hg tljljeblad' as Shouf thefgice of the cl ampingbir' thiS-bein'gJpreer- @.9 effected by .moons which inclzule'givertically f movableiclainping iwl'whi'ch Aifs zfirrainged I forwardly from the clamping bar and form- Fig. 2

VIl() ing a rest for the folding wing, as shown in While the folding bar and'wing are in their lower inoperative position the clamping bar is loweredaway from thefolding blade so as to permit the sheet to be freely inserted therebetween and against the gage. During the initial part offtheupward and rearward movement of thefolding bar and" wing the clamping bar is raised so as to press the rear end f the sheet of metal against the folding Y blade and hold the latter against displacement Vstationary and preferably have the form of rollers. Each of these abutment rollers is pivotally mounted on'a vertically movable support which is yieldinglymounted on the .adj acentA art of the lmain frame, in this 'case vonthe ad]acent footor leg of the'same.

y. as

f `Although V.these abutment supports may vary the same consist preferably of rocking supporting arms 27'one'of which is arranged over each frame legA or footll and carries the respective abutment roller on its `upper side between the ends thereof and is pivoted so as to be capable of swinging vertically by engaging a downwardly opening socket V28 on v the rear end of the supporting arinwith the upper spherical end 29 of a post 30 rising vfrom the adj acent` part of the respective frame leg, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. Y f l In the construction shown'in Figs. l, 2 and 3, each ofthesupporting arms 27 is provided on the upper side of its front end with a Ypocket or casing 9 on the bottom of which Vrests a screw nutS having an upwardly pro-V jecting tubular neck 7. The upper end of the pocket 9 has an internal screw thread which is engaged by anexternally threaded follow- 1 er 6 which may be turned by a spanner wrench orl by *anyl other suitable tool.

1 The screw nut 8 may be held against turningby a pin 5 connecting the same with the y bottom of pocket or other approved means,

so'thatthis pocket and screw nut are prevented from turning relatively to one an-AL V other but the same are capable of moving vertically one relatively to the other.

Within the pocket is arranged a spring 4 Y which surroundsthe neck `7 and bears at its lower and upper ends against the screw nut 8 and the follower 6, so that upon tightening or loosening the follower 6 the tension of the spring 4 can be increased or decreased.

Extending through 'the neck 7 and engaging with the internal thread ofthe screw nut 8 is van'upright supporting screw 3 the lower screw the same may be held against turning by ajamb nut l working on the upper part of this screw and engaging with the upper fend of the tubular neck 7.

For the purpose of adapting this machine for folding sheet metal of a specified thickness the supporting screws 3 are set so as to permit of freely introducing the rear edge of the sheet to be inserted into the gap between the clamping bar 16 and the folding blade 12. Upon now turning this folding bar and wing upwardly and rearwardly the iirst effect is that the cams 25 disenga'ge the low parts of their faces from the abutment rollers 26 and engage their high faces therewith, thereby raising the clamping bar 16 and cansing the same togripthe rear edge of the sheet metal against the underside of the folding blade. If the throw of this cam is ljust enough to take up the slack between the sheet of metal and the'clamping bar and folding blade, the abutment rollers will be merely turnedon their axes but will not be shifted bodily. If, however, the width of the slack space or gap between the sheet metal and the folding blade and clamping bar is less than ,the throw or rise of th'ecams, then the abutment rollers are depressed by the high parts of the cams after the slack between the sheet metal and the clamping ybar and folding blade hasbeen taken up. As a result, the supporting arms 27 will be depressed and the springs 4 which resist such movement will be compressed. When the cams return to their initial or normal position and present their low faces to the abutment rollers, the latter will be raised by the resilienceV of the springs.

The springs therefore provide aV cushion support for thelabutments 26 which permits of eectively clamping the sheet metal and holding the same against displacement dur-V ing the subsequent bending operation and automatically adapts the clamping action to suit sheets of metal of varying thicknesses without requiring the Y clampingA mechanism to be accurately set for each particular thick* ness of sheet metal. y

By avoiding the necessity of such eXtra adjustment for each thickness of material` which is being bent, themachine can be operated more rapidly and a greater yield can ber obtained7 thereby enabling this work to bedone'expeditiously and economically.

The tension of each of the springs 4 can be increased or decreased to suit different requirements by turning either the follower 6 or the supporting screw 3, or by' dividing this Ifdjusting functionY between these two meiners. Y VI claim as my invention: 'v

l. A folding machine includinga folding llt) blade, a foldingl bar adapted to rial around said blade; a clamping jaw which is adapted to movetoward and from said y blade and which is pivotally connected with blade; a folding bar adapted to bend mate-A rial around said blade; a clamping jaw which is adapted to move toward and from said blade and which is pivotally connected with said foldingbar; a rotary cam turning with said folding bar; an abutment engaged by said cam; an arm supporting said abutment and pivoted at one of its ends and provided at its opposite end with a pocket; a lower screw nut capable of vertical movement in said pocket but held against turning; an adjusting screw working in said nut and resting on a fixed part; a follower adjustably mounted in the upper part ofsaid pocket; and a spring interposed between said nut and follower. Y

2. A folding machine including a folding blade, a folding bar adapted to bend material around said blade; va clamping aw which is adapted to move toward and from said blade and which is pivotally connected with said folding bar; a rotary cam turning with' projectingtubular neck; anadjustingscrew i engaging said nut and resting on a fixed part; a Vfollower having? a screw connection with the upper end of said pocket, a spring surrounding saidscrewfwithin the pocket and bearing at 'its ends against saidnut and follower, and means for holding saidfn'ut against turning but permitting the same to .move vertically, consisting of a pin arranged on said nut and engagingwithv an opening in the bottom of said pocket.

In testimony whereof I hereby aiX myV said folding bar; an abutment engaged by n said cam; a supporting arm carrying said abutment and provided with a pocket having a bottom; Va screw nut arranged in the lower part of said pocket andhaving an upwardly projecting'tubularneck; an ad- Justing serewengaging said nut and resting t on a lixed part; a follower having a screw connection ywith the upperend of said pocket; and a spring surrounding said screw within the pocket and bearing at its ends against said nut and follower.

3. A folding-machine including a folding end matesaid folding bar;l a rotary cam turning with said folding bar; an abutment engaged by f said cam; a supporting armrcarryingrsaidA abutment and provided with a pocket having a bottom; a screwnut arranged inthe lower part of said pocket and having an upwardly i projecting tubular neck; an adjusting screw engaging said nut and resting on a fixed part; a follower having a screw connection with the upper end ofksaid pocket; a spring surs rounding saidscrew-within the pocket and bearing at its ends againstfsaid nut and fol'- lower, and means for holding said nut against turning butv permitting the same to move vertically.

4. A folding machine including a folding blade, a foldingbar'adapted to bend mate'- rial around said blade; a clamping jaw which is adaptedto move toward and from said Y blade and which is pivotally connected with said folding bar g a rotary cam turning with said folding bar; lan abutment engaged by said cam; a supporting arm carrying said `v 

